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Task

Role-play: The Right to Bear Arms

Show your knowledge about this topic by staging a debate between representatives from the NRA, the Brady Campaign, the police and a historian.
Five people in a discussion. Illustration.
Image: Shutterstock / Restricted right of use

Role-play

Divide the class into 4 groups. Each group is given a role card. Take time to prepare before you meet your “opponents” in a debate for and against gun control.
You should also choose one person who can act as the host of the show. His/her task is to make sure that each group is given the same chance to express its opinions, and that all group members participate.

Group 1: NRA

You are a member of the NRA and you strongly oppose any form of gun control. Your task is to find out:

  • More about the NRA, what they stand for and how they argue
  • Why many Americans believe owning a gun is a human right
  • Why many Americans fear a strong government, and what this has to do with gun ownership
  • What the NRA believe are the best strategies for reducing gun related homicides

Group 2: The Police

You represent the police. You see the consequences of guns in society every day. Your task is to find out:

  • Statistics and numbers that show the number of killed and injured every year
  • What kind of guns that are used
  • Information about different state legislations, and different crime rates in different states
  • Where the challenges are from the police’s point of view
  • What the police can do to reduce the problem

Group 3: The Brady Campaign

You support the Brady Campaign and work for stricter gun legislation in the USA. Your task is to find out:

  • What the Brady Campaign and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence stand for and how they work
  • Facts about the consequences of guns in American society
  • Why the Second Amendment is no longer relevant in today’s American society
  • What the best strategies are for reducing gun related homicides

Group 4: Historian

You are an historian with a special interest in early American history. Your task is to find out:

  • The background and consequences of the Second Amendment
  • Why the Founding Fathers included the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights
  • How the Second Amendment can be interpreted
  • Why guns are so important for Americans, from a historical point of view

Resources

Brady Campaign
Everytown
The National Rifle Association
Second Amendment Foundation
US Constitution Online

Related content

Subject material
The Right to Bear Arms

As the only modern urban industrial nation, the United States has a Constitution which sets forth the right of the people to keep and bear arms.